Hubby got a promotion!

Greg has been working for the Hilton Garden Inn in Corvallis for just over a year now. He started out helping with managing the front desk. From there he was promoted to working in the accounting department.

With the school budget crisis, Greg and I had been praying that we would hear good news about a job opportunity for me next year. The good news for me did not come, but the Lord provided in other ways. Greg just accepted a job offer at the Hilton Garden Inn in Springfield, OR. He will be the Front Office Manager and also Accounts Receivable Clerk. This comes with a significant raise as he moves from hourly to salary on the pay scale. God is good! I couldn't help but smile when I realized that this was undoubtedly planned out by the Lord.

I have aunts, uncles, and cousins who live in Springfield. In fact, we spent every Christmas and Thanksgiving out there (as well as non holiday trips). I know the area well, and have family support in the transition as we move. Greg will report to work out there June 1st. My temporary teaching position will end June 15th. We plan on moving at the beginning of July. Also, I will have completed all of my Master's courses through WOU by the end of the summer.  The timing of everything couldn't be better.

So even though I have felt a little anxious about a new start and stepping out of my comfort zone, I remember God's plan and everything He has provided. I know He will take care of me :) And, it is entertaining that Greg will be living right next door to Oregon Duck Country!

Stay tuned for updates on our move and new adventure! 

Sometimes comic strips get it right!

Greg brought this comic strip to my attention yesterday. I'm not a middle school teacher, but I imagine this is pretty accurate! 

The Many Roles of a Teacher

So far this week I have played several roles at my job that can be classified as something other than "teacher."

Mother: wiping tears and leading kiddos in apologies and forgiveness.
Doctor: removing part of an eraser from a child's eye... there's a first for everything.
Janitor: cleaning up vomit.
Actress: playing the role of a British woman in a book that we're reading.
Dancer: leading Zumba in front of the whole school during Morning Motion.
Singer: singing "Don't Worry Be Happy" when my kids were disappointed.
3rd Grader: Imitating the whining voice that they use. They know they're too mature for that and that they will have to hear Mrs. Teune whine if they do.

I probably played several other roles this week but these were a few of the highlights.

Spring Weather Isn't Good Enough For Me

Don't get me wrong, I love waking up in the morning to sunlight peaking through my window and catching a glimpse of blue sky. I also enjoyed not having to wear a jacket at recess with my kiddos today. All these little glimpses just feel like a big tease! I want 80 degree sunshine :) Spring does bless us with the occasional nice weather...

like a rainbow among rainy skies

a beautiful view from my kitchen window

But then there are those little reminders that summer isn't quite here...

like my incredibly tan student who just got back from spending 3 weeks in Hawaii visiting family. 

I need summer... and clearly from the picture above, a tan.

Busy in the Kitchen

I had a furlough day on Friday and took advantage of my long weekend by burrying myself in homework. I am currently taking two grad courses that are both on research writing. I could go on and on about that, but I will save that fun topic for another blog entry.

As frustration built during my research over the weekend I decided to use my time in other ways. Greg had requested Sourcream Enchiladas for dinner. It is an incredibly easy recipe. All you need is a can of cream of chicken, refried beans, cheese, tortillas, and sour cream. If you want the recipe just ask and I will send it your way :)

On Sunday I decided to do some baking. My mom's side of the family is from Norway and my Grandma used to bake delicious Norwegian pastries/cookies called Kringles. All of us cousins tease that Grandma must have snuck a secret ingredient in all those years that we never knew about because our Kringles never turn out as good as her's. When they get close, it's very exciting. I got pretty close this weekend :)

fresh out of the oven

about to be baked

I think I'll bring Kringles to Small Group tomorrow night to share with the ladies.

New Student

A new student enrolled in my class on Monday. This is his 4th school since Kindergarten (now he's in 3rd grade). When I met him for the first time he seemed like a sweet boy with a severe speech difference and some behaviors on the autism spectrum. I learned that he is only on an IEP for speech and would spend all day in regular ed classroom, my room. He is unlike any student in my room this year, although I have had similar students in the past. I knew I would need to make classroom management modifications for him, but I underestimated what a difference I would see in my class environment. It has been a week!

I had to call the principal to have the student removed from my classroom yesterday because he was disrupting my class. Some of his behaviors include: cursing, throwing chairs, pushing others, giving kids the finger/flipping them off, sticking his tongue out at others, getting into other students' desks, name calling, and screaming at the top of his lungs in other kids' faces if they upset him.

When he left with my principal I took the opportunity to have a class meeting with my 3rd graders about our new student. I explained some of the different behaviors he has and how they are not appropriate or excusable but it is more difficult for him to control his behaviors. Then I let the kids voice their concerns. I ended up with nearly 5 sticky notes filled with concerns/complaints (all in the four days that he's been here). We ended our class meeting by discussing the good qualities we notice about him. He is very smart, tells funny jokes, and likes to read.

He came back into our room as we were wrapping up our meeting and all of the kids were incredibly welcoming. In the next 10 to 15 minutes of class I saw 3 or 4 different students go up to him and talk with him about the book he was reading or ask him a question. They really went out of their way to be kind and helpful. I was one proud teacher!

I feel stuck in the middle as a teacher in this situation because I want to be accomodating to my new student and make sure that he is not frustrated in his new environment, but I also find myself playing the role as "mother bear" and wanting to protect and look out for my other students. One thing I do know, he will definitely keep me on my toes in the last two months of school!

Macie Rae Adams

My family found out in January that my brother Tyler and his girlfriend Katrina were going to be parents. It was quite a shock, but over the past few months we have had many conversations and made many preparations for this little baby.

Tyler and Katrina found out on Thursday that they are having a little girl. Macie Rae Adams is due August 28th, 2011. Not living too near my family I am enough removed that this whole situation hasn't felt real. It's funny how putting a name to the precious ultrasound pictures suddenly makes become an Auntie so real! Not to mention my temptations to go out and by adorable baby girl items (I can't imagine how tough it'll be when I'm expecting my own!)

Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated in this time as Tyler and Katrina are both 19 years old and won't fully realize the responsibility of having a baby until Macie Rae is here with us.

The parents to be

Grandparents and Aunts to be

Of course I had to find an adorable outfit to dress Miss Macie in! Gotta bribe her at a young age to love her Auntie ;)

Half Marathon Complete!

After training since January, race day finally came! It was a bit cold, but the rain held off which was awesome! I ran a 1:51 which is 17 minutes faster than my previous half marathon time. I was thrilled! There were 1700 runners in the race and I completely missed the first two mile markers because there were so many people around me. By the time I hit mile marker 3 my time was 24 minutes... I was running an 8 minute pace instead of the 9 minute pace I planned on. It all worked out fine though and I survived :)

My colleague Erica and I wore our Monmouth Fitness Team shirts to work on Friday.

Pre race smiles!

I am about to cross the finish line!

Greg surprised me with flowers :)

I finished!

Post race smiles!

The race was a success, but I don't know that I have the desire to run another half marathon... at least in the near future ;)

So Much for Blogging

I have no idea what happened. I was so well intentioned over Spring Break, blogging every other day. Suddenly the break is over and I have no time for blogging. To assure you that I am not exaggerating here is what my schedule has looked like over the last few days:

Friday - worked and set up for a garage sale at a friend's.
Saturday - left the house at 7:45am, garage sale all day (which was a huge success!), traveling the rest of the evening, home by 11pm.
Sunday - left the house at 8:20am for church, home by noon. Left the house again at 1pm to meet family in Portland. Went to a Blazer game (they won and scored over 100 points. Chalupas!). Home at 11pm.
Monday - took a large cup of coffee with me to work and "made it through" the day. Came home and worked on homework that I wasn't able to do over our busy weekend. Dragged myself to the gym for Zumba, but was very glad that I did.
Tuesday - worked all day, ran 4 miles at a little under 9 mile pace (my race is Sunday!), small group that evening, came home and crashed.
Wednesday- worked all day, took the day off from training, have been doing homework all evening.

So I have to say to my friends who feel like I have been out of touch... I apologize! I'm settling into my new schedule and hope to be a better friend asap.